In blowing plastic containers, it has become known to apply labels to a final blow mold so that when the hollow plastic article is blown, the label becomes positioned on the blown articles such as a container.
However, in one type of method and apparatus for blowing hollow plastic articles such as a containers, the nature of the apparatus is such that extreme difficulty has been encountered in applying or positioning labels within the mold halves. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,767,747, 3,781,395 and 3,978,184. In such apparatus, a freely pendant tube is extruded vertically downwardly and separate preform and final blow molds are shiftable horizontally toward and away from the orifice. In such apparatus, access is not readily available to the area above or below the molds and to one side of the molds.
Among the objectives of the present invention are to provide a method and apparatus wherein the labels are applied by a horizontal movement and, in addition, the blown containers are removed.
In accordance with the invention, the method and apparatus for applying labels to the blow molds and removing blown containers with the labels thereon from a blow molding apparatus wherein the apparatus precludes access to the upper or lower ends of the molds includes a carriage which is reciprocated horizontally between a position externally of the blow molds and a position within the blow molds. The carriage supports pick-up heads that pick up labels from magazines and deliver them between the mold halves and deposit them on the mold halves. The carriage also supports container removal devices that engage the blown containers with the labels thereon and remove them from a position between the mold halves.